Just Taggin' Along
by Hound Akragth
Summary: Silas never wanted to be in a situation like this one. She'd rather be at home drinking a hot cup of coffee and curled up in front of the computer playing another video game. But no, something or someone HAD to dump her in a game world. OC/SI
1. Chapter 1

A young woman sat at a desk, playing a computer game and directing her avatar on the screen through several battles. Frantic clicking broke the pattern of occasional clicks sporadically. Inept at tactics, she was forced to start over several times, but her determination wins out and she made it past every battle- eventually. The sun has long since gone down, and the computer screen was the only thing lighting the room. It shed light on a slightly tanned face framed by untied straight black hair and hazel-gray eyes flecked with gold. She was wearing the white t-shirt and black shorts of her school's physical education uniform, and her name was emblazoned across the bottom of the shirt – SILAS WU.

The room was a mess. Silas was not a neat person. The bed remained unmade, several books mixed in the rumpled covers. Papers scattered the floor, and the little trash bin was overflowing with papers. She didn't eat in the room, so that much was avoided. Several toys scattered the floor, along with what seemed to be a pen, a toolkit, four backpacks, and a pencil box. A wooden practice sword leaned against one of the bookshelves lining the room walls, and a toy crossbow was perched on top of the dresser. Both were dusty and unused. There is also a heavy metal stake that leaned against the shelves. The plastic sword that leaned against the back of her wooden chair seemed to be made more of tape than it was of the original plastic however, showing signs of use. The desk she sat at was little better. The textbooks and assorted reference materials were stacked in a slipshod mess all over the desk except for the clear space for her laptop. There was even the glint of steel from a knife under the materials. They were not organized in any sort of manner, and it often took an hour to find what she needed.

She glanced at the time and started. 3:00 AM, it says. She still had to get up at seven the next morning- she had to go to sleep now, or she wouldn't get any sleep at all. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, finally feeling exhaustion from the late night. She stretched, flexed muscles that have been still for hours and stumbled to the unmade bed across from the desk. She crumpled on top of the covers, dragging the ends over to cover her body. Her eyes closed, and she shifted uneasily into the covers before stilling. The stillness doesn't last long, and she flipped to sleep on her side, then on the other side. By the time her body settled into the stillness of true sleep, her head was on the opposite end of the pillow and she was curled into a tiny ball.

The computer screen continued to glow in the darkness. The single window was open to a game, and the characters wait patiently for the sleeping girl to direct their next move, occasionally letting out a complaint muted by the sound controls. Sound was rarely, if ever on while she plays video games. Silas had forgotten to save and shut down the computer for the night, and the computer won't go to sleep with the game running. The night wore on as she sleeps, but just as morning's first glow touched the sky, the computer screen goes on the fritz, blinking furiously. The image skewed, then tore from side to side, and swirled into a whirling blur of colors. The girl remains uncharacteristically unaware of the changing light levels and didn't even shift in response.

The image on the fritz didn't remain on the computer screen. Like a virus among computer files, it spread rapidly from the screen to consume the laptop, the desk, continuing to the wall and floor, before reaching her bed. For a moment after it reaches her bed, everything around her became pixilated and glowing. Then, everything went dark.

* * *

_It begins, Silas._Something whispered.

Silas roused. Awareness filtered in as she slowly registers her surroundings. Beneath her sprawled out body was a hard, cold stone floor, and her shoulder pressed against a wall of solid rock. A soft buzz reached her ears as she completely roused. She felt chilled and sore, as if she'd been there for a while. Dry eyes gummed up slowly opened to see a dimly lit hallway. She blinked several times with effort to clear the debris from her eyes. Silas was reluctant to move, but levered her upper body up to get a better view of the area anyway, shaking her head to get strands of black hair out of her vision with little result. The teenager rubbed her eyes with a hand. She feels oddly calm as she stared at the darkness beyond the exit.

For a heartbeat, two, she remained calm. Then, panic set in as she comprehends she was not home. Was not, in fact, anywhere she recognized. The teenager not yet out of childhood scrambled to her feet in spite of protesting joints, fear a bitter taste in the back of her throat and her breath coming in short, panting gasps. Her head was pounding._Where the fuck am I?_The thought went unsaid, caught before exiting her mouth.

She swung her head side to side, squinting at her surroundings because of her poor vision. A hand went up to adjust her glasses. She froze as her knuckles touched the bill of a hat she hadn't known was there and fingers touched only skin. A fresh wave of panic hit her; unthinkingly, she dropped to her knees.

Her hands patted the ground and searched her pockets, groping around for her glasses in a blind panic. Moments passed before the edge of crippling fear subsides and she gave up searching for her eyeglasses. She leaned back against the wall, attempting to slow her quickened breath. The bitter, almost sizzling, tang of fear remains in her mouth despite her attempts to calm herself. Silas knew she needed to make a rational decision, unclouded by fear or adrenaline, although she was not the steadiest person in instances of emergency._I'm not home. I don't know where I am. Logically, that means- what, exactly? It means I need to find out where I am. It means I need to make a decision. Stay or go._

It wasn't a hard decision._Go._Silas had always gone searching instead of waiting for someone to find her. It wasn't the smartest course of action normally, but who ever said she was smart needed their heads checked, in her opinion. The gray-eyed girl rose to her feet, entire body groaning with the movement. Her back crackled and snapped as she straightened and her left knee felt odd like something had been joined together improperly, but then again it nearly always did. Her breathing was raspy, and her throat felt slightly congested. The ache in the joints of fingers and knees came from how thoroughly they were chilled, although her left knee was feeling the ache more acutely. She brushed off her off-white short-sleeved shirt and thin green jacket absently, before bending over to rub her knees through tan cloth. Nothing she was wearing is something she remembered putting on, but that wasn't important in the context of not being home.

Relying on her sense of touch more than sense of sight, she ran her hand along the wall as she tried to make the decision of which way to go. She might have made the decision to go looking for a way home, but how to start was another question. Silas' head felt like it was spinning and she was utterly disoriented.

The wall was made of stone blocks, the edges cut so precisely that she can barely feel the cracks. Silas tried to remember any instances of this type of construction, but any modern-day construction that she could think of off the top of her head used mortar to join the cracks. She put aside the information as useless. The teenager turned her attention to the dark exit. There were no more clues to be found in this location. That wasn't what she was pausing for anyway.

Silas didn't want to go into the darkness. Her sight was already bad enough without her glasses. Adding darkness to the mix would only make it worse. She didn't attempt it, instead turning to head towards the other end.

She got moving, flexing stiff joints absently as she walked around the corner and then towards the other exit, which was lit. Her left knee pops and clicks inaudibly, but she could feel those pops and clicks as she bent her knees. She paused to bend and straighten her knees a few more times. After that, the clicking was much less frequent. Silas had never been certain why. It worked, and that was all that mattered.

Beyond the exit, the light flickered and fluctuated like a damaged electric light. She entered the room cautiously, first peering past the door frame before stepping into the room with the strange contraption flashing with electricity. It was as she takes her first steps to edge around the machine that a bolt of lightning arced out with a loud snap.

The abrupt light left her blinking away spots. Where the bolt had streaked to, was a creature the size of a large hawk or eagle. It floated- hovered - in the air. The girl cursed her poor vision as she kept her eyes on the fuzzy blob. Her instincts screamed _wrongwrongwrongwrong,_but were interrupted by current events before she could investigate just why they were being set off like that.

The attack was not something she was familiar with, not that she was all that familiar with fighting in the first place. She failed to make an attempt to dodge. The bolt of lightning struck her directly on the shoulder. She crumpled, but caught herself on all fours, muscles twitching like she'd been hit by a taser, and held in a yelp of pain.

The creature- whatever it was- was upon her before she had fully recovered. It lashed at her head with talons like an eagle's, aiming for her eyes. She jerked back, simultaneously turning her head away. The claws raked the side of her head in a glancing blow, but Silas could still feel something wet welling up around the stinging pain. It was blood. She hissed quietly, left eye half-closed, but still snatched at the location she last saw her attacker.

She got lucky. Her hand managed to grasp one of the bony, bat-like wings. She dragged it from striking range of her eyes with all the strength she could bring to bear. Still on her knees, she brought her other hand forward, ignoring semi-successfully the tearing pain as her enemy savaged her arm with tooth and claw. She grabbed the neck before being forced to let go with her left. Snarling, teeth bared as air rasps at the back of her throat, she smashed it into the ground with the power of her weight. She was not going to let it shock her again- she had to keep it stunned. Her fingers dug into its neck with a death grip. She shifted her weight to her right, lifting her left leg around to firmly step on the creature's back. Her weight shifts to her left; she was now standing in more of a crouch than a kneel, and she heard something crunch. The girl yanked upward, hearing a crack as something in the creature snapped. A pause.

The body did not move. The creature was dead. She tumbled backwards off the body, landing heavily. The sound of the crackling contraptions returned to her ears along with awareness of her harsh panting. Her throat ached, and she coughed heavily. For the first time, she truly saw the critter, and it wasn't a bat or any animal she recognized. She studied it without really processing what she was seeing. Her mind felt unfocused, fogged, and downright wobbly; although she was not sure the last didn't come from the shakiness in her hands. There was a sour taste in the back of her throat, and her stomach roiled anxiously. She retched, turning to a side, but there was nothing to purge. The nausea didn't come from the killing, though, she was certain of that much, despite her world having literally changed around her while she slept. There was very little guilt at killing the creature. It was not human, it was trying to kill her, and it definitely wasn't one of 'hers'. It was an easy mindset to fall into, somewhat too easy considering the society she had been raised in. _Am I a sociopath or mentally deranged?_ She wondered idly; she'd never really cared all that much for people outside of her 'bubble'.

She stayed in that position for a couple moments, eyes on the dead body of the bat-like creature, recuperating from the battle and pushing away the pain in her left arm. Then she levered herself to her feet and stumbled blindly away from the room back into the hallway. Once a distance away from the buzz of electricity, she slumped against a wall, closing her eyes in exhaustion. It was the first time she had been in combat or anything resembling combat, and the fight had left her without the energy to continue moving. It felt like the time she'd played the whole entire basketball match in middle school because some of her team mates hadn't arrived. She didn't even make the attempt to treat bleeding wounds. Her thoughts drifted back towards the battle and the blurred moments she remembered of the creature. The creature was something she is certain doesn't exist in the world she lived in, no matter how much like a bat it seemed to be.

Suddenly, the teenager heard footsteps interrupting her thoughts. She bolted to her feet through rubbery muscles and spinning head, taking a defensive stance, cold air sharp and burning in her windpipe. Something had already attacked her once, and something else might also attack her. Silas knew that her cautiousness was unlikely to do her much use. She didn't have enough energy to run far, let alone fight back.

They- whoever they are- rounded the corner. There were four of them; a girl with reddish hair, a woman with braided brown hair, a giant of a man with a bald and tattooed head, and a young man with dark brown hair. All of them were armed and some, armored. Silas glanced at each in turn. None of them seemed in the best of health, but they were probably still better equipped to deal with the situation physically than she was. She wasn't an athlete, and was, by her world's standards, slightly out of shape. At least she wasn't obese or fat. Fat might do her some good, her mind reminded her."W-Who are you?" She asked, voice choking through layers of mucus as if she hadn't spoken for days on end. She probably hadn't, given that she had no idea how long has passed since her last waking moment before arriving here by unknown means.

Silas tensed, ready to flee, although she was unlikely to outrun the group. She could do but try. "My name is Adrian," the young man said in a deep voice. "This is Imoen, " he gestured to the red-haired girl, "this is Jaheira," the woman gave a curt nod, "and that is Minsc," the massive man gave a friendly grin.

She swallowed, relaxing but slightly. "My name is Silas. Do you know where I am?"

They are not immediately hostile. That was good. Silas knew nothing of the four. That was bad. They seem faintly familiar in the back of her mind, as if she'd seen them somewhere before. The teenager scrambled for the information, trying to figure out just what she knew about them. Any information was better than none, and it would make the situation feel less out of control. "We're lost as well," the young man admitted after a moment. "Where was the last place you remember?"

He was wary of her. She was wary of him, but there was very little she can do, with neither informational nor physical superiority. "I remember being at home, in Palo Alto. You?" Something in the back of her mind clicked into place.

"My companions tell me that we were on the Sword Coast, near Baldur's Gate."

* * *

A.N. Well, it begins. First story, yay! Any more is unlikely to be up until after January. I think Silas is way too calm to be me anymore. Or anyone normal. Oh well.

EDIT: Well, I failed in my promise to update. *chuckles nervously* I really hope no one was expecting it. But I edited the chapter to my liking six months later. Not promising anything, however.


	2. Chapter 2

_Shit._ Fear leaped into her mouth, turning it dry, and curled around her chest. She _knew_ those names. Knew them, and never expected to hear them. She did not want to believe they were telling the truth, did not want to believe what their names and stated origins meant to her. Unfortunately, too many things weren't adding up for her to reject the persistent idea that was flooding with twisting fear and the urge to run from that which could not be run from. It could not be, yet it was- immutable.

Silas... was not on her home plane - home world- anymore.

Silas has never dealt well with fear. She has had problems telling the difference between fear and anger, and perhaps that was the reason why it was easy for her to tip of over the edge from panic to a full-blown red rage. Or perhaps it was because her flight-or-fight instinct naturally geared toward fighting. It did not matter what the reason was. Her emotions went from screaming "Shit, I'm lost, nowhere near home, probably will never _go_ home," to snarling "I'm going to _murder_ the entity that put me here."

The snarl turned audible, a grinding growl as she flashed her teeth in a grimace that was most certainly not a smile. Her muscles flexed, but she didn't move an inch, the anger within her without a valid target she could unleash her fury on. Eyes stared straight ahead, not seeing the way the group in front of her tensed and readied for conflict. Her focus had turned inward, to restraining the rage and burying it as deep as she could. After a couple moments, she blinked and refocused. Upon spotting the other's reactions, another jolt of fear shot through her. She had to find an explanation for her reaction, or this wasn't going to be good. It wasn't easy with her mind still muddled with anger and adrenaline, mind still halfway focused on destroying something (anything), but Silas managed to control her thoughts. "This… This isn't my-" She groped for the term, "this isn't my home world… And _someone_ had to have brought me here."

Her voice regained a nasty edge at the thought of the entity that brought her to this world. _Why the fracking hell couldn't it have been someone _else_?_ She mentally cursed. _**Someone **__who actually__** wanted**__ to be in another fucking world._

They paused, processed her words, and it's Adrian who spoke next. "What- where are we, how do you know, and what do you know about the situation?" He said, his voice hard and wary.

Silas' anger hadn't faded, and her hackles rose at the tone of his voice. She made a snap judgment on her course of action that probably wasn't smart at all. There was a sharp roughness in her voice as she responded to Adrian's inquiry. "No, I _don't_ know where we are. What I _do_ know is that there aren't any bat-like-imp-things-that-throw-electricity in my homeworld, and people don't go around fucking tramping in plate _armor!_"

The teenager swept her eyes over the group, trying to find something else to shove in their faces. Anger gave her courage, and she continued talking over their silence. "I also know that I'm not supposed to smell _blood_ and _burnt flesh _even through my weak nose, or _see_ blood on yer armour." _Ichor, probably, but who's counting._

She hadn't had time to process the smells in the air, but now she was looking for it, there was blood. There was the sickly sweet smell of burnt flesh among the smells of other things Silas refrained from thinking about. She ruthlessly controlled her stomach even as it rebelled against her control. The black-haired young woman watched their response, but can't read them very well. "Right, and who says you're not someone planted here to guide us astray." the Harper- Jaheira, snorted, after considering for a moment. "You could be just acting."

"Enough, Jaheira. If she were one of _his_ lackeys, there are better ways to go about approaching our group." Adrian overruled her.

The red-haired girl that Adrian had been almost shielding spoke up. "I don't want to leave anyone here with _him_."

"Minsc and Boo agree. Leaving little girls here is not good." the giant rumbles.

The young man nodded. "Alright, alright. So. Silas, was it? What weapons can you use?"

Silas hadn't considered that. She had no formal training in anything. Still… "I can manage a short sword and a shield."

"Imoen?" Adrian looked at the girl.

She nodded, and withdrew a sheathed blade from her pack and threw at him. He caught it gracefully, and handed the item off to Silas. "I've got a small shield and a buckler. Which one-"

"Would've preferred a larger shield, but the small shield, then." He unslung the shield from his back and handed to her.

She fumbled a little, but managed the items with a wince, setting the shield on the ground against her thigh and sticking the sword onto her belt, entangling it messily. She was not familiar with using a shield or a sword, but it was better than any of the other weapons she knew they had on hand. She simply didn't have the speed and reflexes to manage a sword on its own and not the strength to manage a blunt weapon. That was her logic, at least, even though Silas knew that it might have been faulty. "You need anything else? Armor?"

"Wouldn't know how to put on armor like yours," she said, "But a couple bandages to wrap up the scratches would be nice."

He tossed her a roll of cloth. "Help yourself."

She tore the cloth surprisingly easily and covered the sluggishly bleeding wounds, probably using more cloth than necessary, but then again she wasn't an adventurer, nor was she from a place similar to this when. "So, do you know anything about what's here?" He studied her face, watching for something.

The teenager frowned, thinking rapidly. She let her mouth run as she thought, eyes going unfocused as she parsed her memories for information. "There's a flickering lightning-thing down that-a-way. Shot lightning in one direction and created some kind of imp-bat-thing in the corners. Think I saw a lever off to the left, and there's another exit on the other side. If my guess is right, those things are mephits, lightning aligned, but with my shitty sight and unfamiliarity with this place, I don't know. Beyond that…" She paused, hesitated for a quick second. "I didn't manage to get beyond that room. It's more cave-like on that end as far as I could tell."

She couldn't- wouldn't reveal more than what she had seen with her own two eyes. Revealing too much made her suspicious, made her seem too familiar with the area. She also knew that since she was in this realm and since this realm actually existed, she could well not be in a copy of the Baldur's Gate games, just a dimension/world/place that was close. Adrian's eyes narrowed, having caught her hesitation. He disregarded it for the moment. "That how you got injured?"

"Yeah. Got shocked a bit since I had no idea what I was dealing with and got in a grapple hold with one of them." She was still thinking, trying to figure out the skew the odds in her and their favor assuming that the layout and situation was the same as the game's without revealing herself.

Adrian looked at her, then the others. He opened his mouth to speak, paused, shut it, and switched his gaze between the ranger, Minsc and the thief-mage, Imoen. His lips thinned, and he gave his order. "Minsc, take a look into that room. Don't risk yourself."

Silas frowned. Imoen was better at stealth, and Minsc didn't have the best judgment or reporting skills. She cast a glance at the other girl, wondering if Imoen had caught both hesitation and the strange order. _Perhaps it wasn't strange…_ drifted through her mind. Imoen hadn't caught it.

"Against the wall." He gestured at the inner wall, the one that you'd cut close to make a quicker turn around the corner.

Silas slipped the shield onto her left arm and moved towards the wall, but Adrian stopped her steps with a sharp gesture. "Other wall." He snapped at her, and then shared some sort of glance with Jaheira.

_Huh._ _That is weird._ She complied after a quick pause, taking up a position opposite to Adrian. _I'm more visible here…_

"Angles of sight…" She murmured softly, and backed up another pace. Carefully, using both hands and slightly awkwardly, she drew her sword from its sheath. Hands ghosted over the belt for a moment, not recognizing the strange tan-scaled hide that it consisted of. Silas crouched down, right hand touching the ground, the edge of the short sword almost dragging along the ground. Her hands shook. She licked dry and cracked lips, running her tongue across them. The teenager wasn't as tired anymore, but the vestiges still remained.

Abruptly, a roaring warcry came from up ahead, and the leader of the group slapped his head. "Move. I'll be point. Jaheira, watch my left flank. Immy, look to the back. Girl, you stay on my right," he barked, sliding into the position of leader almost effortlessly.

He was off at a loping run. Silas, with shorter legs and a body unused to exercise, gritted her teeth and almost sprinted to keep up, while the other two kept the pace easily. The young man slowed slightly as he crossed the threshold into the room, eyes flickering instantly to the site of combat. Minsc was locked in combat with not one, but two of the flying creatures. Silas took a heartbeat longer before her attention was drawn to the ranger. "Girl-" He started, a crackle of electricity cutting him off as another opponent spawned on the left, and bringing the four of them to an abrupt halt. "Imoen, she mentioned a lever-"

He lightly shoved Silas in the direction of Minsc, Imoen already sprinting for the mechanical device on the wall. Jaheira was already heading towards the ranger. Silas stumbled, recovered, and followed three paces slower. Adrian turned towards the newly spawned critter, right hand gripping an already drawn longsword.

Jaheira arrived first, driving the left creature away from the large man in a flurry of blows, a couple grazing but not hitting. Silas assisted her moments later, swiping at center of mass. It instinctively dodged and lashed at her, claws raking across her shield. A spear point cut across the edge of her vision and nearly impaled a wing, but only managed to tear a thin line across one of the wing struts. She swung her shield and arm at the thing, leaving herself open. The creature tumbled backwards to get out of the way of her swing and twisted to attempt a strike at her inner arm. Its claws caught on the bandages, tearing them loose and slowing its withdrawal. The blunt end of a spear smashed into the bat-like creature, sending it skywards inches away from her arm. "Yikes!" Silas flinched belatedly, after the spear had already cleared her area.

She snarled as she realized it was too high for her to reach with her sword. It wasn't so, for the slightly taller Jaheira and the extended reach of a spear. This time, the older woman used the spear as a spear and not a staff and impaled a wing, bringing it down to the ground with the same movement. Silas made the kill, stabbing through its head as soon as it hit the ground with surprising precision. She looked up, tunnel vision fading, and scanned the surroundings. The crackling had faded to a dull hum. Minsc had splattered his opponent all over the ground. Adrian'd finished off his. His and Imoen's, Silas corrected herself, noting the girl standing beside the young man.

She was shaking again. Wobbling, rather. _Huh. Wonder if I'll feel this wobbly after every battle or if I'll get used to it. Sword, blood- no, ichor, yeah. Need to clean it. _She looked around for something to clean it on. There really wasn't anything but the corpse in front of her, so she wiped the sword on the thing before sheathing it. "Was that a mephit?" Her voice echoed unnaturally loud in her ears.

"Lightning mephits; from the plane of lightning." Imoen confirmed, voice oddly soft.

Silas nodded. "Never seen one before." She commented.

Adrien called out then. "Anybody hurt? No? Then let's keep moving."

* * *

A/N: And….. Cut! Because it's been more'n a year and something had to be posted. Even if it is shitty writing even by my standards. I do have more writing waiting on the wings, but since I'm not a very consistent writer, no idea when it'll turn up on the site. Ugh. Only 2k words.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I still find myself startled by the fact I am on a favorites list. It's, well, encouraging. Especially with my warning pasted on my author page, but that might be because no one reads those. But yeah. I decided to just get these out because I'm never going to get around to actually editing them.

Disclaimer: Yay, I forgot to say that Baldur's Gate and assorted franchise I may use in the making of this fic does not belong to me.

Here we go again.

They form up again, Adrian taking point and Silas still on his left, but this time with Minsc beside her and the ever-present awareness that Jaheira's spear is right behind her. She hadn't been so wary when Imoen had been at the back, although the girl probably could do more damage. Then again, she'd probably be dead either way. Dead was really not what she wanted to be, although neither was being anywhere near Faerun, Abeir-Toril, or anything in the Dungeons and Dragons franchise. Unfortunately, she was stuck here. She might be able to ask a mage to send her back, but it wasn't likely that they'd manage to actually send her back. She gave a glance at Adrian's back. A god, however, would probably be more likely to be able send her back. To the right place, as well, since she doubted her plane was widely known or known at all. She knew that human nature would have had someone exploit a door between her own realm and theirs long since, resulting in less primitive weaponry. And on the other side, well, that wouldn't have been good.

Silas felt the cool – well, even cooler – air hit her face as she stepped into the cavern. There were the reddish crystals and pools of water she remembered… and an aura of power that she didn't. Details that she'd never seen from the safety of her computer screen blared out her; sharp edge and rough stone and swirling lights met her eyes. Her mind brought up the image of the map, oriented it swiftly, and directed her attention towards a spot. A split second later, a djinn - Ata-something, she didn't remember and it wasn't important- sprung into existence. "Ah, Adrian. Welcome! You have escaped somewhat later than I had hoped. I am Ataquah." Oh. That was his name.

Adrian hissed softly, "Spread out!" They did so, Silas beside Minsc with Jaheira on his left and Imoen bringing up the end, while Adrian was in front.

He then turned his attention to the djinn. "You have my welcomes to my little piece of this place! I do try to keep it more appealing than the rest."

"Aye, I've escaped that _man's_ trap. What did you have to do with my capture?" He snapped a response.

"Worry not, Adrian, I did so enjoy your blundering about Baldur's Gate. I did not wish to see you captured."

"Then will you assist our escape?" He demanded.

"Such assistance as you will get depends on yourself. Are you prepared to answer a question?"

"To what end?"

"I suffer a terrible curiosity; I see paths that branch in a thousand directions, and each a thousand again, but for all I see, Adrian remains a mystery. Tip these scales to me once, and I shall tip them to you in return. Shall you answer me or shall you strike out on your own?"

Silas knew she should interrupt here. Answering would make for more combat. "If you make sense, I will." Too late.

"Then here is my hypothetical question: You and your sibling are each in a cage, unable to communicate. The mage responsible appears and speaks. He explains his sadistic game: In each cell there is a magical button. If you press your button and your sibling does not, you will die, but your sibling will be free." A dramatic pause.

"If your sibling presses the button and you do not, they will die but you will go free. If neither press or both do, both will die. The Mage says you have one turn of the hourglass to make your decision." Another pause.

"What is your decision?"

"Why ask us such a question?" Imoen burst out.

Silas blinks. This wasn't part of the game. It was a deviation. Still, that had been a good question. After a moment, _"Toys._"

"Wha?" The focus of attention swung to her. A jolt of fear stabbed through her, just as electric as the moment she discovered she hadn't been home. She really shouldn't have spoken, or even thought about the question.

"Toys. Toys to play with, and _break_ when you're done. Sub-sentient or at least _below_ you and not worth _considering_. Pain and suffering just more _reactions_ for you to play with." She ground out, explaining. Her voice grew increasingly hostile as she realized why she was here, assuming it hadn't been a cosmic accident. Silas had spotted the similarities to a self-insert fanfiction the instant she realized she was in a game world, and really, wasn't the purpose of one _entertainment_?

The djinn looked at her in slight surprise. "You were not expected here. I do wonder what brought you here without my knowing. But this is of no consequence. Adrian. Again, what is your answer?"

"I will press the button, of course." He said firmly.

"Interesting. No action can be performed without consequences. Especially one that follows the noble path. Deal with this, noble one!" He vanished in a swirl.

Light washed over her, but she feels absolutely nothing. She looked around for a moment, taking the instant before the summoning occurred to check on her team mates. They seem to stand straighter, as if rejuvenated. _Fuck. Apparently I'm not healed at all by this. Wonder if it's part of a greater thing, or just an omission._ Something formed in front of their spread-out group. First the tell-tale lines and veils of light that marked a summoning, then a looming form. _An ogre mage._

"Imoen, get around to the back! Minsc, engage. Jaheira, harry him. Girl, help her." Adrian barked the commands quickly, backing slightly.

Minsc caught the humanoid's attention by charging forward and slashing with the great sword he had been wielding, while Imoen slunk off, probably to set up a successful backstab. Jaheira leapt forward a heartbeat after the ranger, while Silas shadowed her. Adrian moved to Minsc's right, while Silas crossed over to aid between Jaheira and the massive man. The ogre back-stepped the great sword, parried Jaheira's thrust, and moved out of range to its right from Adrian's stab. It then responded with a downward hacking blow at Silas before she had a chance to attack. It sent her to the ground with the force of the blow, the clang against the shield still vibrating even after she managed to twist away and have the bastard sword skid off it. It dazed her and drove her half-way blind for a moment, pain screaming through her nerves and utterly incapacitating her. She wasn't exactly sure what happened in that moment, but when she was no longer stunned, Minsc's armor was dented in several places and Adrian had a light gash over his arm. She drove forward with a downwards blow, aiming for its arm. She didn't have enough reach to hit the body. Abruptly, out of the edge of her vision, Imoen flitted into view. Just as Silas was forced to abort her attack and twist out of the way of the ogre's sword, Imoen successfully completed a backstab on the ogre, planting a dagger into its back and dragging down. Again, the bastard sword scraped against her shield, nearly knocking her off her feet. The ogre roared in pain.

Minsc slashed down on it. It had enough presence to block it, but not the lunging thrust of Adrian's longsword, which pierced through the right side of its ribcage and nearly out the back. Its movements tore both sword and dagger out, worsening the wounds. Jaheira's spear pierced through its shoulder, jabbing in a quick in-out movement. Silas hesitated, and then added her attack to the mix. She missed the arm she was aiming for by several inches, but didn't overbalance. Minsc knocked the sword out of its hands, and the Bhaalspawn lunged under massive arms for an upwards stab, thrusting deep into his chest before withdrawing. The ogre bellowed a gurgled roar, blood streaming from its wounds, staggered as the group watched it warily, and fell.

The party stood, panting for breath. Silas winced slightly, shaking her aching arm that was sending stabs of pain to her brain. Her wounds hadn't been healed like the others, and she wished they had been. _Damn djinn. And I'm an idiot for participating that much. At least I'm not more of a danger to the others than the enemy._

The aforementioned djinn swirled back into existence. "Well done! It appears you can deal with the consequences of your actions. In return for your indulgence, I offer advice. Seek Rielev. He waits for one such as you. Offer him the release he craves, and the focus of your journey will become clear to you. Fare well!"

"Rielev?" Adrian said, puzzled. "What'd he mean by that?"

"Perhaps this is someone in the dungeon we should speak to in order to figure out how to get out of here." The druid remarked.

The young man shrugged. "In any case, we should keep moving. Check the corpse for anything useful."

"Including the clothing?" Silas' tongue got away from her again.

"We don't need it, do we?"

Jaheira shook her head. "We've got enough. The sword is the only thing that's useful."

"Well, that's that. Girl, you think you can manage a longsword?"

She frowned. Short sword or long sword, something she can hold for a longer time, or something that gives her reach. "I call dibs on the next shortsword we find." She finally said. "You want this to go to Imoen, then?"

He gave her a startled glance, probably for remembering names, as he'd been calling her 'girl'. "Yes." That was that, and they exchanged weapons, Adrian taking up the bastard sword.

"Let's move out." They follow him into the corridor, ignoring or not seeing the passage to the sewers. It was locked, so perhaps that was a good thing.

An arrow whistled past Adrian's left shoulder, over Silas' head as she flinched, and into the wall. _Wha- What would- _Her mind spluttered as she groped for whatever could have been there. _Oh._ Several goblins came into view, six total. _I don't usually see them._ No orders were given. Minsc ran forward, massive sword sweeping to meet the goblin warriors, while Adrian continued past the ranger to focus on the archers. Jaheira joined the massive man in combat with the axe-wielding goblins. The pink-haired thief-mage followed Adrian to the back, taking on the other archer. That meant Silas was left to help with the axe-wielders, four in total.

Silas fumbled with getting the longsword out, more than she had with the short sword, but once out, held it well enough. She took up a position next to druid, her sword chopping in a diagonal slice from left to right. The goblin was forced away from the druid, and forced further as she followed through by advancing further on it. With her size advantage, with most creature's size advantage, getting anywhere close enough for a grapple hold or being pinned was a poor idea for the goblin, so it backed further. But while it was unable to get past her sword and shield, she was unable to strike the goblin. It was like a single wolf circling a massive moose, darting in and out, but unable to score a hit on the aggressive herbivore without serious injury, and the moose unable to get a hit on the more nimble wolf. Except both was murderously intent on killing the other. It dragged on for a while, until Silas' muscles started burning and she started panting with effort. Then, out of nowhere, a shortsword ran the goblin through with a casual ease that the displaced girl doubted she'd ever be able to manage. "Not used to using a longsword?" Imoen asked curiously.

Silas blinked. "No. We had other weapons." She said simply. _Like I ever used one,_ her mind snarked.

"Like what?" Adrian had joined the conversation, kneeling to rifle through the goblin's stuff. "Gem, some gold, no rations." He muttered aloud.

"Various types of guns, grenades." She picked something they'd be completely unfamiliar with. _I wish I knew the mechanical side of things. It'd make life easier if I had a gun, even if I had shitty aim. Then again, finding ammo would be impossible. Well, primitive grenades and shrapnel it is. Napalm, if I can get my hands on similar materials. If I can figure out how to, high explosives and acid. Thermite, if we can find aluminum and associated materials._

Adrian shook his head. "Never heard of them. Suppose we won't be finding something that fits you better. Let's get going."

The hallway split in several directions. Rough stone floor on their right, a doorway past which was tiled stone flooring, and a door on their right that was closed. Adrian carefully opened the door on the left, peering into the room. There were a bunch of glass containers that way, and if she remembered right, a mephit. Two, actually. He stepped cautiously through the doorway, and spotting nothing, continued a bit further. Gesturing for the rest of the group to squeeze in behind him, he peered around the corner of the entrance, and froze. "Mephit." He then grinned, and unslung the long bow Silas hadn't noticed he'd picked up. "Minsc, you too."

He peered around again, slunk close to the walls, and fired. There was a soft twang, and the arrow transfixed the mephit's wing. It immediately noticed him, and something gathered in front of it. "Damn." He dashed across the room as the ball of bright steam fired forward. It curved to follow him, and a yell of pain met the group's ears as the thing exploded.

Minsc fired the second bow shot, and it ran the other wing through. It ignored the stunned Adrian, flying towards Minsc somehow despite having arrows through its wings. The ranger dropped his bow at his feet and drew his greatsword. Minsc took its steam breath attack easily, and flattened the creature with a single blow. "Adrian, you alright?" Imoen dashed over to the young man, who was just climbing to his feet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It just hurt."

Jaheira rolled her eyes from behind Minsc. "If I know you, it didn't just hurt. It likely did a chunk of damage as well."

"Minsc says a scratch will not stop Adrian from fighting." The ranger boomed.

"Nothin' much to be done, less you have a potion, well or not." Silas said softly.

"We don't. Used it up when we first found them. If I'd known that djinn would heal us, wouldn't have touched it." Adrian said, standing. "Minsc is right, though. I'm not unable to fight. Imoen, I- Well, can you scout out the rest of the room to double-check if there's anything else here? Rather not run into an ambush."

"On it, Chief." Imoen melted into the shadows. Visible for those who already knew she was there, but sometimes flickering in and out of blurriness.

"We should search ourselves," Jaheira said after Imoen had gotten out of sight.

They fanned out, careful not to go too far. Well, the others did. Silas was a bit less cautious and made a beeline for a crate one glass down from the corner. She rummaged through it, pocketed some gold, and took the arrows and short bow out. "Only five. Thought there would be more." She muttered, before calling out, "Anybody good with a short bow?"

Imoen was, but a stranger wouldn't know that. "Imoen is. Leave it on the crate." Jaheira answered absently.

It didn't take long before Imoen returned. "One mephit, on the other side of the room against the wall." She reported. "Should be easy. Find anything?"

"The girl found a short bow."

"The _girl_ has a name. It's Silas, and I'd appreciate if you'd use it." She snarked. "It's on the crate." Silas froze after realizing just what she'd said.

Minsc chuckled, a booming laugh. "Minsc and Boo think that little Silas has spirit." She relaxed.

"Sorry, Silas." Adrian apologized, although it didn't sound like he really meant it. Silas shrugged and accepted the apology anyway.

The pink-haired thief padded over to Silas, who was sitting on the crate rubbing her left knee from over her tan pants. It ached faintly, but mostly just felt annoyingly uncomfortable. Imoen grasped the bow's limbs, running fingers up and down the wood. "Usable?" She asked.

"Yep. I can use this." Imoen glanced at the out-worlder. "You 'kay?"

Silas started. "Huh?" Then it dawned on her why the older girl had asked. "Nah, I'm fine." She consciously made herself stop rubbing the knee.

Imoen nodded and pried no further, probably because neither of them knew the other well enough to do so. The older girl called out at Adrian. "Heya. Brother, you have an extra quiver? And arrows?"

Adrian turned his head to stare at her for a moment. "Oh, right. Yeah. Wait a moment." He'd collected half of the arrows the goblins had and an extra quiver. He stuffed some into the quiver and tossed it at Imoen.

Imoen dove for the quiver. "Wassat for?" She cried as she came up with the quiver, and then upon seeing Adrian's sheepish look, teased him. "Fumble-fingers, ya sure ya won't drop ya sword the next time we run inta something?"

He gave an exasperated sigh, and then abruptly grinned. "You usually catch stuff. Your skills getting worse?"

Imoen spluttered, but before she could come up with a response, Jaheira interrupted. "Enough playing around, you two."

Both of them became serious. "C'mon, guys. Follow me."

The combat was brief, quick, and most of them came out the other end with little more than light burns or scorch marks on the clothing. Silas herself had stayed away and kept out of the combat this time, well, mostly. On the edges, at least. "I really need to find myself a crossbow." She grumbled under her breath. "Still, probably end up shooting someone in the back in 'friendly fire'." Hazel-grey eyes looked around, scanning the crates."There's something good in that crate, but it's trapped. Wonder if I can figure out what the trap is if I look at it."

She shook her head. She'd probably get herself killed triggering the trap, saying nothing of breaking past the lock. Silas still walked over when the group fanned out to search the area, prying lightly at the crate. It was locked. She had known it would be, and this way no one had the urge to smash it open- which would trigger the trap. "'Eya, 'ere!" She yelled. "This here's gotten a lock."

"Imoen, would you?" Adrian called from over by the barrels. The older girl left the barrel, sticking something in her pocket. It was likely the sling-stones they called bullets here. She withdrew long picks from her pocket, and knelt beside Silas.

Some prying, some wiggling at the lock later, the thing popped off. Imoen turned her head towards Silas. "The thing's trapped too, so keep ya mitts off it 'till I finish, alrighty?"

Silas shrugged and said, "You can handle this, right? I'll just meander off and look at other things." She turned away from the crate and started wandering about the area while Imoen looked at the trap.

Moments later, she heard a "Huh. A lightly enchanted quarterstaff. Jahs would want it. Jaheira!"

The half-elf turned. "You better not be playing tricks, Imoen. Now what is it?"

"Staff, Jaheira." Jaheira hurried over and took the staff from Imoen's hands, hefting and looking at it.

The older woman gave an approving nod, and stowed it onto the side of her pack, out of the way. They resumed searching the room, Silas half-heartedly, and after a while, Adrian called a halt to the searching. They left the room quickly, away from the floating jar-creatures and the creepy atmosphere, and back out into the hall.

Adrian walked towards the other door, poked his head in, then quickly withdrew and turned around. "Golem," was his explanation.

Silas' knew that the golem was harmless. The mephit, less so. The shelves had a bunch of interesting stuff, like a spell, scimitar and medium shield, and enchanted items. However, the others agreed with Adrian that it would be too dangerous to risk it, and protesting would be, to say the least, suspicious. They continued down the last exit, Adrian checking the next door along the way and immediately closing that one. There were golems in there, too, if she remembered right. And from what she remembered, they were also the golems that were the guardians to that room which they would have to trip. She usually took them out long before reaching that point, since ambushing was better than being ambushed.

There was one thing that they couldn't avoid, and that was the goblins. Rapidly taken care of, Imoen and Adrian pegging the two archers with arrows before they could even fire, the only injury they gained from that was Silas' clumsiness. She'd missed a block with her shield and ended with a gash on her left leg. Then there was the door on the other side. Rielev's place.

A/N: Her thought about being inserted as entertainment? Mostly true. That's breaking the fourth wall a bit there. And… Yay. Stopping again. And getting nowhere in the plot with Silas. Adrian's plot is moving along, but that's stuff we know already. Silas is still a useless weakling, although she seems to have thought things out a bit. And I have just one comment: Do not touch things you don't know are dangerous or not. Shiny is not an excuse.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I don't feel like editing anymore, since A. I don't have a beta or anybody willing to be one. B. I don't do anything consistently enough to have one.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic except for Silas, and teh pretty rock. I do own a copy of Baldur's Gate 2: SoA and ToB and a couple insanities.

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Rielev went as expected. The conversation about removing the power cells, Irenicus' cruelty, and Imoen's very out of character reaction caused by Irenicus and her taint went the same. She'd ignored that conversation, despite the initial disquieted fascination at the fact there was a man in a jar. Perhaps it hadn't quite hit her yet, that this was real.

The room, though, had one extra thing that she hadn't seen before. It was a glowing stone, orange gold and it extruded warmth and welcoming from it. Swirls of lighter gold and darker orange moved across its surface hypnotically. Even Silas, a foreigner to the world she was now trapped in, knew that the stone had magic to it. Despite the wariness she should have had around an unidentified object, the teenager picked it up. The warmth wrapped around her, along with a feeling of safety and comfort, loosening the knot in her chest that had kept her analyzing and comparing the events as they happened to the one in the game. It was comfort that she sorely needed after arriving in this world unexpectedly. She relaxed slightly into the warmth, and decided to shove the item into a pocket. It seemed benign, after all. The feeling lingered, along with the heat, which soothed her aches against the cold and pushed back the burning of the wounds on her arm. The snarling anger that rumbled at the mind-numbing spikes of pain faded behind the glow of the strange rock.

She refocused on the room around her, checking the tables quickly. The activation stone had been picked up, they'd found the sling that Jaheira was now holding along with the bag of bullets from before. The other weapons had been left where they were. In the game, Silas mused, she'd have taken them, but in real life, there was no practical reason to take them, and they were heavy. Fighting with a weight on one's back made combat harder to survive. She smirked slightly at the reminder of the RPG adage "Take everything that isn't nailed down or too heavy - and anything that can be pried loose is not considered nailed down." It was definitely not true in real life.

Silas didn't remember the jar-people very well. She tended to cut across that and just interact with the golem. This group was a lot more cautious than she had been as the player. Then again, it wasn't her life she had been playing with. As they fruitlessly revived each prisoner possible, they gleaned no information about how to get out, to her surprise. She frowned. She had been certain that it was here, because it hadn't been later. She shrugged it off, dismissing it as faulty memory, although the situation felt utterly wrong. "Nothing," Adrian said tiredly, "No hints, except for the problem we already solved."

Silence reigned for a few moments while they considered their next step. Finally, Jaheira spoke up, "Standing around isn't going to get us anywhere; let's keep moving."

Adrian startled at the abrupt announcement, but quickly recovered, "I guess," he turned, waving them into position.

The teen followed them without comment, deciding to let this play out as it would. She did not have the raw power or influence to change events, not with a tight-knit group forged through the anvil of the Iron Crisis. Minsc, instead of the stealthier Imoen, was directed to scout ahead, and while Imoen made no comment, her lips thinned. Adrian cursed as he heard the sounds of combat up ahead, and all of them sprinted towards the combat, Silas trailing them. She shadowed Jaheira as the closest of the three. Jaheira made a stab at the goblin on Minsc's right, while Adrian made for his left. Imoen let fly an arrow at a goblin in the back, the shock of their arrival allowing her to score a hit. Silas translated from a dead sprint into an all-fours, favoring her shield arm and slightly limping on her left leg, near-tumble that slammed her into yet another goblin on Jaheria's right. It was a full-body tackle that bowled the goblin over, its sword glancing off her shield even without the intent to block. The weapon went skittering across the ground as the creature hit the stone floor. Minsc bellowed faintly, but the off-worlder barely heard it over the echoing in her ears. Something in the depths of her head remembered the lessons of self-defense in the past, and she smashes the side of her right hand into the neck in a chopping backhand blow. She's heavier than the goblin, and she'd always brawled as if she weighed more than her opponent. It wasn't smart, considering her size, but here it translated into being able to keep the advantage. Elbows and knees and legs shift to keep the leverage advantage. The goblin choked on the hit, and she crashed down with her shield on the goblin's chest despite her arm screaming in pain and the surge of hot rage that accompanied it. She hoarsely snarled, rearing back for another shield-assisted strike over the throat. A crunch sounded. Then she stumbled to her feet, swinging her head around to look blindly around. It took a moment for the scene to register.

She swallowed heavily, the scent of blood and guts in the air combined with the pain roiling her still-empty stomach. She retched quietly while staggering, gritting her teeth and digging blunt nails into her palms to keep her stomach acid down. The girl leaned heavily against the wall, pulling her shield off her left hand. The bump of her elbow against the still-sheathed sword brought her to the realization she hadn't used her sword. She hadn't even thought about using the weapon. "Stupid."

"Are you alright, Silas?" The softer, less harsh female voice of Imoen asked quietly, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Her hand slipped down into her pocket to touch the stone. She drew a deep, shaky breath. "I'm fine," Silas pointedly refused to think about the situation, instead focusing on the game.

"Imoen!" Jaheira barked, and Imoen jumped.

She glanced at the older female, then back at Silas. The off-worlder shrugged, sighed, and stood upright. "Time to move."

Their next fight took place in the library, and although the goblins were fairly easy to dispatch, the dust mephit didn't let them get away without several lacerations and Silas was limping even worse than before by the end of the fight. Jaheria applied a druid spell on the worst injured, which was Minsc, and they split up to search the library for clues and items. She limped over to a shelf that had a scroll or oil of speed, she didn't remember which, and started searching. It didn't take her long to find the oil, and she glanced between the other members of the party in an attempt to decide who to give it to. Adrian was a fighter, if she guessed right, Jaheira a multi-class fighter and druid, Minsc a Ranger, and Imoen a dual class thief and mage. Silas tilted her head, shrugged, and decided to stop thinking. She slipped over to Adrian and was about to tap him on the shoulder when Imoen spoke quietly, staring at a book she was holding, "Oh, this reminds me so much of Candlekeep. Dusty old tomes all over, bookcases nearly spilling, it's like we never left…"

The pink-haired girl flipped open the book, but she didn't really seem to see the pages, fingertips running over the black ink and parchment. "Im…" Adrian trailed off, uncertain what to say.

Distant brown eyes stare blankly at the page, before sliding up to look at Adrian. "But we did, didn't we. Adrian, I just want to go home again. It doesn't matter where it is, just so I can call it home," a note of tiredness entered her words.

The thief closed the book and slid it into her pack, even though it wasn't really anything important. Silas was certain of that much. Instead of handing the oil to Adrian like she had intended, the girl backed off. She didn't belong in this conversation. The potion went in one of the many pockets of her jacket, and she wandered off in search of the other items she remembered. There were two scrolls and several healing potions in the area; one of the scrolls had been an utterly useless "Know Alignment" spell, but both scrolls were worth some cash. Gold, Silas reminded herself. She rummaged through the corner bookshelf, itching to read the books that she had never seen before. This was not the time to indulge her reading addiction, and history was often a dry read. After a few minutes, she came up with a spell scroll. Silas skimmed it. Larloch's Minor Drain, she guessed. It was a relatively useless spell. Better use than you are, flashed through her head. Silas ignored the thought. She spotted several bottles of some liquid in the bottom shelf, and picked them up. She juggled the items for a moment, stuck the scroll in a pocket, put two bottles in the other pocket, and placed two on the ground. She uncorked the bottle, sniffed at it, looked at the liquid, and poured a dab out on to her fingers to lick at it. The off-worlder did not recognize this as a healing potion, but she knew it was one, so she figured learning how it tasted, smelled, and looked would be a good idea for the future. She tilted her head back and drank it. There was no response. She looked down. The wound was still there. "Fuck." She said.

This wasn't good. Not being healed by spells and potions meant that she would have to heal the old fashioned way, and she had never been a fast healer. Except there was no time to consider this now. The party was moving.

She hurried, a few steps forward to catch up with the rest of the group and falling into position at a curt gesture from the half-elf druid. Slowly, Adrian at point, they moved along the corridor. Then – "Be alert, laddies! We've got company. Ho, prisoners! Ye've come to th' wrong place, I tell ye true! Ilyich and 'is boys'll stop you!" Was the hoarse roar.

Duergar, her mind hissed. She flexed her arm, loosened the longsword from its sheath clumsily. The length of steel rasped out and pointed towards the ground as she got read for combat. The next few words came as she remembered it. "Would that I knew where this place was. I've no quarrel with you duergar," Adrian's voice was low and cautious, wary, but from the looks of it, he wasn't particularly expecting this to turn out peacefully.

Neither were any of the others. Same as Silas herself, without the foreknowledge she had, they were preparing. Minsc, all the way in the back, had eased his two-handed sword off his shoulders. "Suffice to say, this place is your doom. By the time the master returns you shall be dead and we shall be rewarded. At 'em lads! No mercy!" was the response.

Her companions exploded into action. Adrian charged. Silas hesitated for a heartbeat as the massive giant of a man and the druid shouldered their way past her, and then gritted her teeth in determination. She might be essentially dead weight, but she had to seem like she was worth something. I will not be left behind, she growled mentally. She ran after them, clumsily holding the weapon. Adrian was among the duergar like a cat among pigeons, savaging them in a whirl of glittering steel and moving to confront the leader. Minsc wasn't far behind as the man shouted, "Go for the mage!"

She knew that, but couldn't disengage as the vibration of a battleaxe slide off the angled shield. She hacked back at the dwarf in front of her, flailing at empty air. She's pressed as slow reflexes and slow reactions failed her and she fell back under the onslaught of heavy axe blows, evading by retreating backwards. There's a distant part of her mind that notes that there wasn't much room to run, but the single, desperate attempt at turning the tables was contemptuously batted aside. In this, she neither was neither larger or stronger than her opponent. Then the whistle and twang of a crossbow sounded. There was no time to react as blinding pain exploded in her shoulder. Her right hand dropped the sword and she crumpled below the swing of the axe. All that came out of her throat as she opened her mouth to scream was a whispery sound that lacked air. There was nothing but the pain, the stabbing, tearing, sharp pain in her shoulder that grated and blinded every sense but agony.

Through uncomprehending eyes, she watched as the dwarf swung for the killing blow. Something, something snarled in her mind, not her ears and burned a pulsing pattern on her left leg. Her senses returned to her just as the axe started to complete its arc towards her neck, and there was just enough time for panic. A sharp stab of fear, electric fear that ran from her chest to her mouth to her hands through the agony pounding through her shoulder she can't forget was there. Then something uncurled, and she wasn't sure from where, but the sensation of unfurling was very distinct. The world exploded in fire and whiteness, a ragged howl exploding from her lips and then she couldn't remember much beyond rolling upright like a snake and lashing out, dropped sword in hand, as strangely cold-hot white fire burned through her nerves but caused no pain and built as pressure in her lungs.

There were indistinct shouts of surprise and confusion. Fear, too. She could remember vaguely things skidding across the ground away from her. Driving forward in a flurry of blows and savageness that drew from a fury that wasn't quite her own. Fire and flame and pink spheres that did absolutely nothing. Then darkness.

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A/N: Well... Um. It's been a while? Don't expect regular updates, I will notify if I've given up entirely, but it's perfectly possible that there will be year and years long gap between posts. I knew I should have finished this before I posted it so there'd be regular updates. Sorry, anybody who's interested in seeing this occur.

Spoilers:

Plans are listed on the profile page, but to rehash, I'm considering giving Silas an experience vampire trait that absorbs procedural memory and if she uses it often and quick enough after the deaths, she makes it her own. Other traits that she was already set down for: A 'light candles' pyrokinetic ability, immunity to magic (healing and otherwise) that ends up slightly weakened after this chapter, high resistance to poison and disease and a higher temperature, slightly tougher hide and healing rate under certain conditions.


End file.
